Chihuahua [antikvár]

My experience of Chihuahua, Mexico, was essentially a discovery of the community use and public power of color. Today, in cityscapes across Chihuahua, bright colors constitute a potent presence and force. They coat the walls of grocery stores, mechanic shops, and storefronts of all kinds. They decorate the metal cages standing guard over graves in the cemeteries. Intense rainbows of color light up graffiti in the cities and illuminate the exterior walls of private homes. Vibrant palettes breath life into images of the Virgin of Guadalupe painted on rural roadsides and into giant murals found in downtown streets. In the daily life of Chihuahuans, paint plays many expressive roles. It celebrates: "Los Barateros" explodes in yellow above the street on which shimmers the watery reflection of tires. It warns: Painted on a garage door, a pistol firmly gripped by a flinty, lethal figure topped by a cowboy hat sends an unmistakable message to potential intruders. Colors in Chihuahua are also transitory. In the course of my many trips to the region, I frequently revisited cities, streets, and buildings only to find them repainted. The cover of this book provides a vivid example. This political mural, "Brigada por la Paz," survived only a few months before it was painted over in a dull tan. the mural was covered depends on who was offended. In one story a multinational corporation was affronted. In another a local political party ordered the new coat of paint. I would not be surprised if, at this moment, something else is forming—in color—in its place. This book—both my photographs and Charles Bowden's text—is visual. I took the photographs with an 8 x 10 wood field camera, using Fuji Velvia film. The focal lengths of the three lenses I employed were 250 mm, 355 mm, and 480 mm. In his essay, Bowden explores the United States-Mexico border region, a new world more cutting-edge than any existing at a distance on either side of the international line. His word pictures create the historical and contemporary context for my photo- ix